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Nearly a week after the disaster, rescue crews are still clearing sections of Highway G216 in Gyirong county destroyed by the mudslide, working to reopen the route for rescue vehicles and supplies. By the fifth day of the response, 16 deaths had been confirmed and 546 people remained missing.
Xi Jinping chaired a CPC Politburo meeting to direct rescue and aftermath work following the Gyirong mudslide, with attendees observing a moment of silence for the victims. The meeting called for scientific search and rescue, guarding against secondary disasters, and emergency aid to the disaster hit area in Nepal.
A mudslide struck the Gyirong border port on the China-Nepal frontier on Wednesday, leaving three dead and 558 missing, including 260 foreign nationals, as of Thursday morning. Xi Jinping has ordered an all-out search effort, Li Qiang is overseeing the response on site, and an upstream barrier lake still poses a high risk of breach.
China's Ministry of Natural Resources says the Gyirong port mudslide was triggered by a high altitude glacier collapse in Nepal, with debris traveling about 50 meters per second and affecting an area over 20 kilometers away. National rescue teams and state enterprise engineering crews have been arriving to join the search.
After the mudslide, Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search effort and guard against secondary disasters, Li Qiang directed officials to verify the toll and step up relief, and Zhang Guoqing led a team to the site. China has activated a Level-II emergency response, allocated 220 million yuan to Xizang, and deployed national and local rescue forces.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is on a state visit to China from August 18 to 23, marking the 10th anniversary of the countries' comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi Jinping held talks with him, with both sides agreeing to deepen cooperation on trade, green industry and the digital economy.
